Collapsible box



w. P. E. KLEMMING 2,788,910

April 16, 1957 COLLAPSIBLE BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1953 INVENTOR law/QM w m 7% BMW, MJW

ATTORNEYS April 16, 1957 Filed May 26, 1953 w. P. E. KLEMMING 2,788,910

COLLAPSIBLE BOX 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I anvil/l1. 'IIIIIIIIkIIA I VENTOR 1 1M 0% 5M BY WW flaw r 10m ATTORNEYS United States Fatent 6 i COLLAPSIBLE BOX Wilhelm Per Erik Klemming, Vedevag, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Sveaexport, Stockholm, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Application May 26, 1953, Serial No. 357,413

4 Claims. (Cl. 217-15) The present invention relates to a collapsible box and has for its object the creation of a box of strong, lightweight construction which can be collapsed and opened up in a simple manner and which when collapsed takes up a minimum of space.

The collapsible boxes heretofore known in the art generally have not had sufiicient strength to withstand loads applied obliquely thereto for the reason that where, as is usually the case, hinges are employed to permit the collapse of the box, these hinges must not only perform their normal function as hinges but, in addition, must support all, or practically all, the weight of the filled box, and it has not been possible to provide hinges capable of hearing this load. Therefore, in addition to very strong hinges, it has been necessary that the walls of the box be constructed of unusually strong material, such as thick heavy panels of wood, which add measurably to the cost of manufacture of the box and also substantially increase the weight of the box when empty.

In accordance with the present invention, these disadvantages are eliminated by a number of different measures, all of which contribute to increasing the strength of the box. One feature of the invention consists in connecting two opposite walls of the box at only their upper edges to a rigid frame at the top of the box in such a manner that, when the box is to be collapsed, these two walls may be swung up to a position substantially coplanar with the rigid frame and above the upper edges of the remaining two side walls to permit the latter walls to fold about the bottom of the box.

Another important feature of this invention lies in connecting a frame at the top of the box with the box bottom by means of longitudinal supporting members pivotably connected at their ends to the frame and bottom, the end walls of the box being fastened only to said supporting members with the result that the load of the box is borne by the supporting members rather than by the walls.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a perspective view, partially cut away, of one form of the improved collapsible box with the cover removed;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of one corner of the box showing the details of the connection of the side and end walls of the box to the top frame member;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary detail view of one corner of the bottom frame member;

Figure 4 is a view of the box in its collapsed position with the cover omitted for purposes of clarity;

Figure 5 is a modified form of the connection arrangement shown in Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view through the top frame member, the remainder of the box being omitted, illustrating a modification of the box wherein the end panels overlap in folded position.

. Patented Apr. 16, 1957 Turning now to the detailed description of my invention, the numeral 1 designates a rigid rectangular bottom frame member formed of angle iron or the like to the horizontal leg or flange of which is fastened a bottom panel or wall 2. Also formed of angle iron is a rigid rectangular top frame member consisting of side sections 5 and 6 and end sections 7 and 8, the former having their horizontal leg or flange facing outwardly while the latter have their horizontal leg or flange facing inwardly, as can be clearly noted from Figure 2. The top and bottom frame members are connected together along two corresponding opposite sides by means of a number of supporting straps 9 the ends of which extend in hooked fashion through slots or openings 10 and 11 which are provided respectively in the vertical legs or flanges of upper frame sections 5 and 6 and the corresponding vertical legs of the angle iron of bottom frame 1. A pair of side panels or walls 3 and 4 are fastened to these supporting straps 9 by any suitable means, for example, rivets 12. As the side walls 3 and 4 are fastened only to straps 9, they are not directly subjected to any load, the load rather being supported by straps 9, and the top and bottom frame, and consequently the side walls 3 and 4 may be made of relatively weak material, such as thin panels of wood or plywood.

Extending between the vertical legs of side frame sections 5 and 6 adjacent and parallel to each of end frame sections 7 and 8 is a rod 13 firmly riveted or Welded at the ends thereof to said legs. A pair of end panels or Walls 14 and 15 are swingably or pivotably supported on rods 13 by means of inverted U-shaped fittings 16 formed of sheet iron or the like which are connected to the upper marginal portions of the side panels 14 and 15, being penetrated by rods 13, so that the end panels may be swung up out of their normal vertical position, shown in Figure 1, into a horizontal position, shown in Figure 4.

To give the box a finished appearance and also to prevent the sharp corners of the outwardly extending horizontal legs of frame sections 5 and 6 from being exposed, there may be provided filler strips 17 of wood or other suitable material which extend the length of the frame sections beneath the outwardly extending horizontal legs, being fastened to the vertical legs by means of rivets 18 or the like. Preferably, the top frame member is assembled by welding frame sections 58 together and, accordingly, a weld seam 19 is indicated in Figure 2. By virtue of the fact that the frame sections 7 and 3 of the top frame member have their horizontal legs facing inwardly, the upper edges of walls 14 and 15 are virtually completely covered so that all of the sides of the box present a substantially smooth, flat surface to the inside of the box.

Where a cover is to be supplied for the box, it can conveniently consist of a rectangular frame 20 bent from angle iron in which is mounted a top panel 21 of wood, plywood or the like, similar in size and shape to frame 20. As the frame 20 overlies and surounds the top frame member when the cover is placed on the box, it also serves to further reinforce the box. In order to fasten the cover, the frame 20 can be provided along one of its sides with inwardly directed hooks 25 which engage the under face of the horizontal leg of frame section 5 and for this purpose the filler strip 17, arranged below this leg, when such a filler strip is used, is provided with recesses 22 for the reception of hooks 25. At the opposite side of cover frame 20 there can be provided a hole 23 which is in registration with a hole 24 formed in the horizontal leg of frame section 6 so that the cover can be fastened by means of a wire passed through the holes 23 and 24 or be locked by means of a lock inserted in these holes. In order to secure the end panels 14 and in their normal vertical position, suitable securing members, not shown, can be employed, such as pegs, snap springs or the like.

Where, as the'result of the particular dimensions to which the'box is constructed, the sum of the vertical dimensions of the panels 14 and .15 exceeds the length of the box, difficulties may occur when it is desired to collapse the box since there is not enough room for both of the sides 13 and 14 to swing up into a horizontal, substantially coplanar position, but rather the inner end of the lower of the'two panels must overlap with the inner end of the upper of the panels and extend slightly down- Wardly into the box. In order to eliminate this disad vantage and to insure that the two panels lie flat although in partially overlapping relationship, a modified connectioncan be employed at one end of the box, such as shown in Figure 5. In this modified arrangement, an

'end panel 14' is supported on a rod 13' carried by the frame sections, only one of which, 6, is shown, at a position which is lower by the thickness of one of the top panels than is the position of rod 13 in Figure 2, Thus, while partially overlapping, the end panels when in their upwardly'swung horizontal position lie flat and do not interfere with the collapsing of the remainder of the box. In this modified form, if the panel 14 projects up into the fitting 16 to the same extent as panel 14 projects up into fitting 16, as shown in Figure 2, panel 14' when in its normal vertical or downwardly swung position will not extend completely up to the lower face of the horizontal leg of frame section 8. While this does not generally constitute a disadvantage, it can be prevented by mounting the fitting 16? higher on the upper edge of panel 14' so that as the panel pivots downwardly about the rod 13 the fittings 16 will be'displaced upwardly with respect to rod 13.

'When the box is completely collapsed, the cover 21 can, of course, be replaced thereon and locked. As its frame is rigid, it lends in this connection additional strength to the box and at the same time protects the upwardly swung panels during'handling, transportation and the like.

As will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is obviously not limited to the specific embodiments shown in the drawings and described since these embodiments can be varied in many respects both as to the rotatable support of the panels onthe frames and the construction of the supporting members as well as their position in the frames. For example, in the event that the side walls of the box are to be made of sheet metal, for example, aluminum sheet, the separate panel supporting members can be eliminated inasmuch as the walls in this case will be capable of withstanding the load to which they will be subjected and, accordingly, the walls need only be formed with integral outwardly projecting hook-shaped elements which are inserted in corresponding openings provided in the top and bottom frames, as

heretofore described. The invention is therefore limited only by the scope and spirit of the claims hereunto appended.

Having thus described my invention, that which is claimed is:

1. A collapsible box comprising a bottom member, an upper frame member, a first pair of opposite side panels hingedly connected to said members and maintaining the same in parallel relationship, a second pair of opposite side panels, and means pivotably supporting the upper end of said second pair of panels in said frame member to permit said panels to be moved to horizontal position above the upper edges of said first pair'of panels, said supporting means including a rod disposed in said frame member parallel and adjacent to each of two sides thereof and having its ends secured to said frame member and an inverted U-shaped fitting carried'by the upper edge of said second pair of panels, said rod extending therethrough, said hinged connections between the edges of said first pair of panels and said members comprising slots formed in said members and hook-like extensions on said panels, said extensions passing through said slots and being pivotally retained therein, said rods being disposed at a vertical distance above said slots so that said second pair of panels, when moved to their horizontal positions, lie completely above the upper surface of said first pair of panels.

2. A box as in claim 1 wherein said upper frame member is formed of angle iron, one leg of which extends downwardly on all four sides thereof while the other leg extends inwardly along the twosides parallel to said pivotably supported side panels and outwardly along the remaining two sides.

3. A box as in claim 1 wherein said first pair of panels has substantially rigid supporting members affixed there to, the ends of said last-mentioned members being bent to form said hook-like extensions.

a 4. A box as in claim 1 wherein the combined length of the pivotablysupported second pair of panels placed edge-to-edge exceeds the length of the first pairof panels References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 915,565 Davison Mar- 16, 1909 945,228 Fowler Jan. 4, 1910 1,381,013 Rainsford June 7, 1921 2,221,504 Beasley et a1 Nov. 12, 1940 2,512,522 Denny June 20, 1950 

